Dear coleagues,

It is with deep sadness that I write to you this week, following the tragic mass shooting at Young Park. As members of the Las Cruces community, we are all profoundly impacted by this devastating event. I join President Ferme in mourning the lives lost and extend my heartfelt condolences and support to all who have been directly affected. I encourage anyone impacted to utilize the support services available to both employees and students through TimelyCare and the Aggie Health and Wellness Center. Together, we will navigate this difficult time with compassion and unity.

Having now completed a full year serving as your interim provost, I want to express my sincere gratitude for your support. It has been incredibly rewarding to initiate new directions within the Office of Academic Affairs, and I look forward to continuing our shared progress.

Among the initiatives we have set in motion is the data-informed culture to guide us in the decisions we make on campus, particularly with regard to student success. As part of our ongoing efforts to enhance institutional effectiveness, I am pleased to introduce Aggie Insights, our Data Quality Initiative approved by the Higher Learning Commission and designed to improve access to, understanding of, and trust in our data.

Aggie Insights represents a significant step forward in supporting our institutional goals and ensuring that academic leaders and student support staff have the tools and knowledge necessary to enhance student outcomes. This initiative will focus on:

• Developing comprehensive materials to improve access to, comprehension of, and trust in data used by faculty and staff who make decisions affecting student outcomes.
• Refining processes to identify, develop, and implement data tools that provide actionable insights for faculty and staff working to improve student success.
• Establishing a shared understanding among academic leaders regarding expectations for using data to drive improvements in student outcomes.
• Developing recommendations for a comprehensive data strategy for NMSU, ensuring alignment between our actions and institutional key performance indicators.

Through data summits, workshops, and self-teaching materials, we plan to build a foundation for data literacy, enabling faculty and staff to confidently interpret, discuss, and apply data in ways that enhance student experiences. These resources will be available for both current and future users, supporting just-in-time learning and ongoing professional development.

Ms. Melody Munson-McGee is leading Aggie Insights by working together with the deputy provost, Dr. James McAteer, and our data coordinator, Mr. Sashidhar Chintalapati. While the Office of Institutional Analysis, led by Mr. Calixto Melero, continues to generate data for internal and external reporting, Melody and Sashidhar will provide support on interpreting and providing academic context to the data. Sashidhar will serve as the primary contact for university leadership regarding college and program data, annual reports, data for collective bargaining, and strategic plan support.

Together, we will create a more data-informed community that enhances student success and strengthens institutional effectiveness. We are NMSU.

Sincerely, 

Lakshmi N. Reddi
Interim Provost
New Mexico State University